bottom

The definition of bottom is the lowest, last or underside of something.

An example of bottom is the lowest drawer in a file cabinet; the bottom drawer.

noun

The bottom is defined as the underside or lowest position.

An example of bottom is the last person on a waiting list.

An example of bottom is the underside of an office chair.

An example of bottom is an entry level position at a company.

bottom

the lowest part

the lowest or last place or position: the bottom of the class

Baseball the second half (of an inning)

the part on which something rests; base

the underside or whichever end is underneath: the bottom of a crate

the seat of a chair

the part farthest in; inner end, as of a bay or lane

the bed or ground beneath a body of water

[usually pl.] bottomland

the part of a ship's hull normally below water

a ship; esp., a cargo ship

[usually pl.] the lower unit of a two-piece garment, as pajama trousers

fundamental or basic meaning or cause; source

endurance; stamina

Informal the buttocks

Origin of bottom

Middle English botme from Old English botm, bodan, ground, soil from Indo-European an unverified form bhudh-men from base an unverified form bhudh- from source Classical Latin fundus, ground, Classical Greek pythmen, bottom, German boden

of, at, or on the bottom; lowest, last, undermost, basic, etc.

to provide with a bottom

to place (something) on or upon a foundation; base

to reach or rest upon the bottom

to be based or established

bottom Idioms

at bottom

fundamentally; actually

be at the bottom of

to be the underlying cause of; be the real reason for

bet one's bottom dollar

Slang to bet one's last dollar; bet everything one has

bottom out

to level off at a low point, as prices

bottoms up!

Informal drink deep!: a toast

bottom

noun

The deepest or lowest part: the bottom of a well; the bottom of the page.

The part closest to a reference point: was positioned at the bottom of the key for a rebound.

The underside: scraped the bottom of the car on a rock.

The supporting part; the base.

The far end or part: at the bottom of the bed.

a. The last place, as on a list.

b. The lowest or least favorable position: started at the bottom of the corporate hierarchy.

The basic underlying quality; the source: Let's get to the bottom of the problem.

The solid surface under a body of water.

often bottoms Low-lying alluvial land adjacent to a river. Also called bottomland .

a. Nautical The part of a ship's hull below the water line.

b. A ship; a boat: “English merchants did much of their overseas trade in foreign bottoms” ( G.M. Trevelyan )

often bottoms The trousers or short pants of pajamas.

Informal The buttocks.

The seat of a chair.

Baseball The second or last half of an inning.

Staying power; stamina. Used of a horse.

Slang One who is penetrated by another person or is the submissive partner in a sexual encounter or relationship.

adjective

Situated at the bottom: the bottom rung of the ladder.

Of the lowest degree, quality, rank, or amount: the bottom three teams in the league.

verb

bot·tomed, bot·tom·ing, bot·toms

verb

transitive

To provide with an underside.

To provide with a foundation; base: jurisprudence that is bottomed on democratic principles.

verb

intransitive

To have or strike the underside against something: The car bottomed on the gravel.

Phrasal Verbs: bottom out To reach the lowest point possible, after which only a rise may occur: Sales of personal computers have bottomed out.

Origin of bottom

Middle English botmefrom Old English botm

Related Forms:

bot′tom·er

noun

bottom

Noun

(countable and uncountable, plural bottoms)

The lowest part from the uppermost part, in either of these senses:

The part furthest in the direction toward which an unsupported object would fall.

The part seen, or intended to be seen, nearest the edge of the visual field normally occupied by the lowest visible objects, as "footers appear at the bottoms of pages".

Old English botm, bodan (“ground, soil, lowest part”), from Proto-Germanic*butm- (compare Old Norse botn, Swedish botten), from Proto-Indo-European*bʰud-, a variant of Proto-Indo-European*bʰudʰ-. The other Proto-Germanic variant of the root, *budm-, from Proto-Indo-European*bʰudʰ-, must have given rise to Dutchbodem (“bottom, ground”), Old Frisian boden (“soil”), GermanBoden (“ground, earth, soil”). For cognate in other branches in Indo-European, compare Sanskritबुध्न (budhna), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmēn, “foundation”), Latinfundus (“bottom, piece of land, farm”), Old Irish bond (“sole of the foot”), Albanian bythë (“butt, end, bottom”). Meaning "posterior of a man" is from 1794; the verb "to reach the bottom of" is from 1808. Bottom dollar "the last dollar one has" is from 1882.